Torn Apart
by elfmaiden4legs
Summary: Another in my series of 'COE' shorts! Not even Captain Jack could walk around with a bomb inside of him and not feel any effect!


**Torn Apart**

When Jack finally woke up he had the worst gut ache to memory… a searing, sharp pain in his abdomen. It wasn't surprising really, he had just been shot… but this pain was far worse than anything he'd ever experienced before.

As he struggled to his feet the pain became instantly far worse, more intense however. Something wasn't quite right here Jack could sense, and it unnerved him, he was just in far too much pain. He felt cold from the inside, and an internal pressure the likes of nothing he'd ever felt before. Something was gnawing at his insides, tearing him apart from the inside, out. There was also just a small patch of flesh on his abdomen which throbbed painfully.

Although being the fighter that Jack was, the only indication of the discomfort he was currently in, and which he let out was a weak groan as he righted himself, planting himself firmly on his feet and straightening up.

Then Jack noticed the body of Doctor Patanjali laid out beside him, and realised in an instant that he was dead… pity, he thought, he could have really done with his expertise right about now!

With every new step he took, resting himself momentarily against the cold, stone infirmary walls until he became more accustomed to the dull ache, the pain grew worse, more debilitating, before finally he was almost doubled over with it's strange intensity. The sharp jolt to his stomach every time he tried to straighten himself up knocked the breathe out of him, but somehow, slowly he finally managed it.

Jack realised immediately that they'd been betrayed, and who'd betrayed them. But why, not even he could be sure. A moment of panic rushed through him as he realised that he had to get back to the Hub, and warn the others.

He managed to make his way out of the hospital, almost doubled over, without drawing too much attention to himself, and back to the SUV. Driving was difficult, but not quite as painful as walking had been, although the short return journey passed in a bit of a blur, as the sharp and excruciating pain which shot through his entire body every time he moved was also accompanied by a dull and constant ache.

When he returned Ianto hugged him, and Gwen smiled. He was a little bewildered to find her downstairs in the medical bay, but Jack's attention was quickly drawn to the real reason for her being down there… she wasn't sick, or injured… all indications to be drawn from the results of the scans projected out on the computer screen mounted on the far wall were showing she was pregnant.

Jack smiled, his pain suddenly seeming irrelevant now in the whole glorious beauty of the moment as he took a somewhat shell shocked, although ecstatically happy Gwen in his arms, a blip of discomfort in the timeline of his existence, insignificant, bearable. This made everything worth it, made it all worthwhile, all the pain and heartache and suffering. This was what they were fighting for.

He embraced her, their hands entwined affectionately… as friends. She'd have to take more care of herself from now on, that was assured… but their happiness was short lived. Suddenly the machinery and scanning equipment the two had had their fingers subconsciously entwined over the top of set off a series of alarms inside the base, sending the Hub into automatic lockdown.

Jack looked up to the horrific realisation… a bomb… there was a bomb inside of him.

No wonder he'd been in so much pain… evidently not even he, with everything he'd already been through, could walk around with a bomb inside of him and not feel at least some signs of its existence.

It took him a moment to get his head around… not even he could entirely comprehend the full scale of such a situation…

They'd actually put a bomb inside him…

But, amongst the chaos which ensued the one question remained… somebody obviously wanted them all dead… but who wanted them all dead enough to go to such efforts to make it happen?

As Jack fought to get Gwen and Ianto out of there, saying goodbye before what he knew would inevitably be the most traumatic and painful death of his long life, he swore that once all this was over he'd do whatever it took to find out who, and why…

… today, Jack thought as he closed his eyes, watching Ianto ascending slowly away from him, was after all just a blip in time.


End file.
